New Delhi: French building materials group Saint-Gobain will open a glass plant at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan next week with an investment of $185 million (Rs 1,000 crore) to strengthen its position in India's glass market.
Spread over 136 acres, the plant with manufacturing capacity of close to 1,000 tonne glass a day is going to be Asia's largest facility, Saint-Gobain said.
"When the plant would be fully functional by mid-2015, Saint-Gobain would have a total installed capacity to produce 9,000 tonne of glass per day," Saint-Gobain president-flat glass, South Asia, Malaysia, Egypt and managing director-India B Santhanam said.
The plant will be inaugurated on Monday and would cater to the demand of glass markets of North India, which accounts of its 30 per cent sales, he added.
The company which is leader in float glass and mirrors and range of automotive glass products is also looking to expand its portfolio here.
"We would double our automotive glass products which includes windshield, side glasses and back glasses from the present one million to two million by 2020," Mr Santhanam said.
However, he also said it would depend on the growth of the Indian auto industry.
"The company expects to have a turnover of Rs 4,800 crore by the end of this year. Last year, it was Rs 4,500 crore," he said.
Saint-Gobain has manufacturing facilities at Jhagadia in Gujarat and Sriperumbudurin, Tamil Nadu and a R&D centre at Chennai.
"Presently 15 per cent of our turnover comes from exports, which is mainly to ASEAN, South Asia, Middle East and Africa" he said.
The company is stressing on "Made in India" strategy and 95 per cent of the products sold here by the company are manufactured domestically.
On being asked about future expansion, he said, "We would think about that after mid-2015, when Bhiwadi plant attains its full capacity."
Saint-Gobain Glass India is a subsidiary of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, which is a world leader. It operates in 64 countries and had a turnover of euro 42 billion in 2013.
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